Mark Clattenburg weighs in on what Chris Kavanagh did that left Bruno Fernandes frustrated

Mark Clattenburg has been vocal recently about decisions affecting Manchester United. Only last week, he stated that VAR should have disallowed Arsenal’s goal, claiming that the PGMOL had let United down.

This time, though, he felt the officials got it right. Speaking to United in Focus, Clattenburg explained why he agreed with the decision:

“Before the season started, PGMOL, the head of referees in England stated that they will be strong on holding in the penalty area.

“Players have been warned but Calvin Bassey must not have read the memo as he wraps both arms around him and pulled Mason Mount to the floor to give the match officials a decision to make and award a penalty.

“I agree with the awarding of the penalty as long as they will be consistent each week.

“Some will argue that Luke Shaw was pulling Rodrigo Muniz just behind Mount and Bassey and why was a free kick not awarded instead. The first offence was the Mount and Bassey challenge so what happens after is immaterial.”

The Portuguese midfielder missed from 12 yards and after full-time said that Kavanagh bumped into him while getting set for his run-up.

This was only a minor incident but speaking about it, Clattenburg said: “Bruno Fernandes was complaining about referee Chris Kavanagh bumping into him while setting up the penalty. It could have been avoided by Kavanagh if he allowed some space to players, especially in crucial moments.”

Fernandes admits being ‘upset’ over Kavanagh but refuses to use it as an excuse

Fernandes endured a difficult game against Fulham, failing to convert a penalty and struggling to assert control in midfield.

After the match, he spoke to Sky Sports about how he felt, saying: “I was upset. As a penalty-taker, you have your own routines, your own things that you do.

“It upset me because the referee didn’t apologise. That is what triggered me in that moment, but that’s not the excuse for missing the penalty.”

Ashley Young, former Man United captain, also felt the incident affected Fernandes’ focus during the spot-kick.

“I think the referee has put him off…” he said to Sky Sports at half-time.

But Ruben Amorim saw it differently: “I think he’s not used to missing a penalty. He knows that every moment in this context can have a huge impact on the team.

“I felt that during the game he was not so happy, not so involved, because he had so much responsibility and he felt the missed penalty was huge for us.”